14th May 2026

1. India Hosted 10th Edition of Indian Ocean Dialogue in New Delhi
2. IPC Signs MoUs with Bihar, Maharashtra & Mizoram Pharmacy Councils to Strengthen Pharmacovigilance
3. AU Small Finance Bank Launches Four New Credit Cards with Travel and Lifestyle Benefits
4. RBI Cancels Licence of Mumbai-based Sarvodaya Co-operative Bank
5. ISRO Scientist Kuljeet Kaur Marhas Becomes First Indian Woman Fellow of Meteoritical Society
6. CII Elects R Mukundan as President, Suchitra Ella as President-Designate
7. Union MoS Dr Jitendra Singh Launches Two AI-Powered Systems for Hyper-Local Weather Forecasting
8. V. D. Satheesan Named Kerala’s Next Chief Minister by Indian National Congress
9. Yoweri Museveni Sworn In for Seventh Term as Uganda President
10. India Imposes Immediate Ban on Sugar Exports Until September 2026
11. International Day of Families 2026: Date, Theme, Significance & History
12. What is India’s First Orbital Data Centre Satellite?
13. Cabinet Approves Ahmedabad (Sarkhej)-Dholera Rail Project Worth ₹20,667 Crore
14. Kevin Warsh Set to Lead US Federal Reserve as Next Chair
15. Prashant Pise Appointed India’s Ambassador to Oman
16. Rahul Dravid Becomes Owner of Dublin Franchise in ETPL
17. R. Mukundan Succeeds Rajiv Memani as CII President for 2026–27
18. India Raises Import Duty on Gold and Silver to 15%

National News

India Hosts 10th Indian Ocean Dialogue in New Delhi

• What: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), hosted the 10th Indian Ocean Dialogue from May 7 to 8, 2026, to discuss regional cooperation and maritime security.
• Tell me more:
  • Theme: “Indian Ocean Region in a Transforming World”
  • This Dialogue serves as a premier Track 1.5 forum that brings together senior government officials, policymakers, academics, and diplomats from IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners.
  • India currently holds the Chairship of IORA for the 2025–27 period and promotes regional stability through its Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions).
  • The discussions focused on six key areas: Maritime Safety and Security, Blue Economy, Disaster Risk Management, Economic Trade and Investment, Climate Change, Science and Technology Development and Women Empowerment.
  • The forum identified “Innovation, Openness, Resilience and Adaptability” (IORA) as the four priority pillars to guide the association during the 2025–27 period under its IORA Chairship.
  • Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal introduced the “Sagar Mein Samman” initiative, which focuses on advancing dignity, inclusion, and leadership opportunities for women in the maritime sector.
• Knowledge Nuggets:
  • India previously hosted the inaugural session of the Dialogue in Kerala in 2014 and the sixth edition in New Delhi in 2019.
  • Secretary-General of IORA: Sanjiv Ranjan

State News

Cabinet Approves Semi High-Speed Rail for Gujarat

• What: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Ahmedabad (Sarkhej) – Dholera semi high-speed double line project to run trains at 220 kmph, marking the first such corridor of Indian Railways developed using indigenous technology.
• Tell me more:
  • The project involves an estimated investment of around Rs 20,667 crore under the Ministry of Railways.
  • The corridor will improve connectivity between Ahmedabad, the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), and the upcoming Dholera International Airport.
  • It also links the Lothal National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) to the regional transport network.
  • Authorities planned this project under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for integrated multimodal connectivity.

Banking and Economy

AU Small Finance Bank Launches Four Credit Cards

• What: AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) launched a new portfolio of four credit cards to target different customer segments ranging from first-time borrowers to affluent travellers.
• Tell me more:

RBI Cancels Licence of Sarvodaya Co-operative Bank

• What: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the licence of the Mumbai-based Sarvodaya Co-operative Bank Ltd. effective from May 12, 2026, due to inadequate capital and poor earning prospects.
• Tell me more:
  • The bank failed to comply with several provisions of the Banking Regulation (BR) Act. RBI stated that the financial position of the lender made it unable to pay its depositors in full.
  • The Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Maharashtra, must now wind up the bank and appoint a liquidator.
  • Depositors are entitled to receive insurance claims of up to Rs 5 lakh from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
  • Data shows that 98.36% of depositors are entitled to receive the full amount of their deposits from the DICGC. The DICGC already paid Rs 26.72 crore toward insured deposits as of March 31, 2026.

Government Hikes Import Duty on Precious Metals

• What: The Indian government increased the total effective import duty on gold and silver to 15% to preserve foreign exchange and stabilize the rupee amid global disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict.
• Tell me more:
  • The basic customs duty on gold and silver imports rose from 5% to 10%.
  • The government hiked the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) from 1% to 5%.
  • Platinum imports now attract a higher effective duty of 15.4%, up from the previous 6.4%.
  • Imports of all precious metals also require a 3% payment of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).
  • Gold currently stands as the second-largest item in the import bill of India after crude oil.
  • Gold imports in Financial Year 2026 (FY26) reached $71.97 billion despite a slight fall in actual volume to 721.04 tonnes.
  • Customs duty on gold and silver findings increased to 5%, while platinum findings moved to 5.4%.

Science and Technology

Dr. Jitendra Singh Launches AI Weather Forecast Products

• What: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launched two advanced, Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven weather forecast products developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences to provide hyper-local and impact-based weather services across India.
• Tell me more:
  • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) introduced the first ever AI-enabled system for the “Forecast of Monsoon Advance over Different Parts of the Country.”
  • This system provides probabilistic forecasts of monsoon progression every Wednesday up to four weeks in advance for 16 States and 3,000 sub-districts.
  • A pilot service titled “High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast for Uttar Pradesh” generates rainfall forecasts at a 1-km spatial resolution up to 10 days ahead
  • The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) jointly developed these systems with the IMD.
  • The number of Doppler Weather Radars (DWR) in India increased from 16 to 50 in the last decade, with 50 more planned under Mission Mausam.

Pixxel and Sarvam to Launch India’s First Orbital Data Centre

• What: Bengaluru-based Pixxel partnered with AI firm Sarvam to launch Pathfinder, a 200 kg class satellite described as the first orbital data centre of India, scheduled for orbit by late 2026.
• Tell me more:
  • Pathfinder will carry data centre-class Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) alongside a hyperspectral imaging camera to process data directly in space.
  • An orbital data centre runs AI models in orbit instead of relaying heavy raw files to ground stations for processing.
  • This space-based computation allows satellites to process and analyse data directly in space instead of sending all raw data back to Earth and reduce the burden and cost of transferring huge amounts of satellite data to ground stations.

Agriculture and Rural Development

India Bans Sugar Exports Until September 2026

• What: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) banned sugar exports until September 30, 2026, to increase domestic availability and control local prices amid global uncertainty linked to the West Asia conflict.
• Tell me more:
  • The DGFT notification changed the export policy for raw, white, and refined sugar from “Restricted” to “Prohibited” with immediate effect.
  • This ban does not apply to exports to the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) under specific quota arrangements.
  • India is the second-largest sugar producer in the world and manages outbound shipments through quotas allocated to sugar mills.
  • The Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) estimates total production at 29.3 million tonnes for 2025-26 after ethanol diversion.

Awards

Kuljeet Kaur Marhas Elected Fellow of The Meteoritical Society

• What: Kuljeet Kaur Marhas, a professor at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, became the first Indian woman elected as a Fellow of The Meteoritical Society for her pioneering research in planetary science and cosmochemistry.
• Tell me more:
  • The Meteoritical Society, founded in 1933, is a leading global organisation dedicated to the study of meteorites and the origins of the Solar System.
  • Marhas is only the third Indian scientist to receive this honour, following researchers Devendra Lal and JN Goswami.
  • Marhas helped establish a sophisticated Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and NanoSIMS facility in India to study microscopic mineral particles.
  • The scientist previously received the Devendra Lal Memorial Medal and served as a council member for The Meteoritical Society.

Important Days

International Day of Families – May 15

• 2026 Theme: Families, Inequalities and Child Wellbeing

Memorandum of Understanding

IPC Signs MoUs to Enhance Medicine Safety

• What: The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the State Pharmacy Councils of Bihar, Maharashtra, and Mizoram to promote patient safety.
• Tell me more:
  • Partners will work towards the wider adoption of the National Formulary of India (NFI) among registered pharmacists for evidence-based medicine use.
    • The National Formulary of India (NFI) is an authoritative, official manual that provides comprehensive information on pharmaceutical drugs approved for use in India.
  • The agreement seeks to establish the NFI as a mandatory reference document in hospital pharmacies across state healthcare facilities.
  • This partnership strengthens the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) by promoting Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reporting mechanisms.
  • The organizations will coordinate to establish ADR Monitoring Centres (AMCs) to reinforce medicine safety surveillance systems.
  • Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director of IPC, signed the agreements with the respective presidents and vice-presidents of the state councils.

Appointments

R Mukundan Elected President of Confederation of Indian Industry

• What: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) elected its new office bearers for 2026-27, with R Mukundan, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tata Chemicals, assuming the office of President.
• Tell me more:

• Shashwat Goenka recently served as the Chairman of the CII Eastern Regional Council and is the Honorary Consul of Finland in Kolkata. The World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized Goenka as a Young Global Leader in 2024.

V D Satheesan Named Next Kerala Chief Minister

• What: The Congress party named V D Satheesan as the next Kerala Chief Minister, ending a decade of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule after the United Democratic Front (UDF) victory.
• Tell me more:
  • The United Democratic Front (UDF) won 102 out of 140 seats in the 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections.

Yoweri Museveni Sworn in for Seventh Term

• What: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni took the oath of office for a historic seventh term at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, extending his 40-year leadership following a landslide election victory.
• Tell me more:
  • The President remains one of the longest-serving leaders on the African continent.

Kevin Warsh Confirmed as US Federal Reserve Chair

• What: The US Senate approved President Donald Trump’s nominee Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed), replacing Jerome Powell following public disagreements over interest rate policies.
• Tell me more:
  • Kevin Warsh previously served on the Federal Reserve Board between 2006 and 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
  • Born in Albany, New York, Warsh studied at Stanford University and later graduated from Harvard Law School.
  • Before joining the Fed, he worked at Morgan Stanley and later served in the White House under Bush as an economic policy adviser.

Prashant Pise Appointed India’s Next Ambassador to Oman

• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has appointed Prashant Pise, a 1995 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, as the next Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, succeeding Godavarthi Venkata Srinivas.

Start Quiz of 14th May 2026 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 14th May 2026 on Desktop